Brigadier General Thomas V. Draude, USMC (Ret)
General Draude serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Marine Corps University Foundation and The General Robert H. Barrow Distinguished Chair of Military Studies at the Marine Corps University.

General Draude started at the Foundation in September 2004 and teaches an elective course at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College in Information Operations.General Draude held the position of Senior Vice President and General Manager of USAA’s Southeast Regional Office (SERO) located in Tampa, Florida. He oversaw operations and directed the activities of over 1,700 employees who provide insurance products and services to policyholders in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee. He joined USAA’s San Antonio, Texas, corporate headquarters in February 1993 as Vice President of Support Services. In August 1993, he was promoted to Senior Vice President, Administration and Marketing for USAA Federal Savings Bank, a USAA subsidiary also located in San Antonio. In April 1995, he was reassigned to USAA’s Property & Casualty Insurance Group, and after a brief period of orientation assumed the position of Senior Vice President and General Manager of USAA’s Western Regional Office (WESTRO) in Sacramento, California, in September 1995. He was reassigned to the Tampa office in April 1996. While in Tampa, General Draude was an Adjunct Professor at Saint Leo University teaching courses on the Vietnam War and War and Peace.

Prior to his years at USAA, General Draude served in the United States Marine Corps for 30 ½ years, retiring on January 1, 1993, as a Brigadier General. His career included serving three times in Vietnam as an infantry platoon and company commander, and as an advisor to the Vietnamese Marines. He served as the Assistant Division Commander of the First Marine Division during Desert Shield and Desert Storm; he also was responsible for the Marine deception operations in the combat theatre. He retired as the Director of Public Affairs for the Marine Corps and served on the Presidential Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces. He received two Distinguished Service Medals and ten personal awards for combat, including two Silver Star Medals and the Purple Heart Medal.

Born in Kankakee, Illinois, General Draude graduated with distinction from the United States Naval Academy. He was awarded a Master’s degree in Military Arts and Sciences and was an honor graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. He is also a graduate of the National War College.

General Draude and his wife, Sandi, the former Marysandra Campagna of Buffalo, New York, and a former Marine, have three adult children: Loree, a former Navy Lieutenant Commander S-3 carrier pilot now Vice President of Marketing at Military.com; Patrick, a Naval Intelligence Lieutenant Commander; and, Ryan, a Marketing Manager at Sallie Mae. They also have two grandchildren: Sam and Julia.